Rain sensor for wipers on 2023 Tacoma

I was wondering if anybody has tried to install a Toyota or an aftermarket rain sensor for the wipers in a 3rd gen (best 2023 model) Tacoma? Is it technically possible without messing with the ECUs?
Solid technical advice appreciated.

 

I had a BMW 330 that had this and it actually worked pretty good. So the technology is definitely out there. The BMW rain sensor was part of the rear view mirror mount assembly. But adding this aftermarket to a Taco might not be an easy thing to do as you have surmised.

i don't recall anyone here ever doing this, but I guess anything is possible with enough time and money! Sorry OP, this is not the "solid technical advice" you are looking for, but good luck!

 

I'm from the less is better when adding electronic gadgets to my truck. Except for power windows, had to have those...

 

I had this in my BMW X5. While I had that vehicle I cussed out the rain sensing constantly because it never seemed to work consistently, but now that I don't have it anymore I miss it.

That said, at least with BMW and most other OEM systems, the glass is specific to rain sensing vehicles, so trying to retrofit a OEM system would require the windshield as well.

Aftermarket kits I can't speak for, but my quick google search didn't come up with much that looked promising.

 

If you can't see that it's raining and know to engage your wipers, should you really be driving?

Legit question. What is the real benefit of this tech? Assuming it worked perfectly.

 

K. Thanks for the answers!

My plan is to get a rain sensor for a different Toyota model (e.g. RAV 4) and connect it to... Here I have not thought it through yet ....
The rain sensor has 4 pins - that seems manageable. Guess one goes to ground. One goes to continuous power or ACC power. The other two go to the wiper operating arm. If I hook it onto the interval cable I may lose that, but since it is a rain sensor, I don't need the interval anymore. That is the rough plan. Now researching, trying to find a wiring diagram hoping it does not feed into some ECU black box type deal thing.

I had one on my VW Passat those days and loved it- but it is long gone. It also had a solar moon roof - super nice, the fans ran even when the car was off, closed and locked and cooled the vehicle down significantly.

 

What a smarty pants! Thanks for your technical expertise.

 

It has nothing to do with not being able to see if its raining. You still have to manually turn the system on, but once on you don't have to mess with it anymore. It's particularly nice on days where rain is sporadic, or rain intensity changes frequently. Turn it on and forget it. No messing with speeds. No turning wipers on and off every 3 miles. For me personally I cant stand when wipers are going faster than needed, so not having to adjust speed all the time was great.

Biggest annoyance I had with it was at stop lights. BMW adjusts wiper speeds based on vehicle speed, so if you're stopped at a light it sometimes wouldn't wipe at all even if the windshield was completely covered and you couldn't see.

 

1st part was admittedly a touch snarky. Just typed my common sense response.

However, I notice you didn't answer the legit Q though. So I shall repeat.

Help the clueless one understand.

 

OP, you have the RAV4 info and schematics?

 

Found this on the German market:

https://www.carmodule.de/produkt_P10499_Regensensor_fuer_Toyota.html
No idea yet how the relay fits in. It is for Toyota, but since they do not trade Tacoma in Germany hard to get an answer from the dealers and manufacturers.

 

Nope, still searching. You have any Toyota rain sensor diagram at hand you could share please? (TLC, Yaris, Avalon, ... They all have rain sensors).
Thinking of going to a junk yard and find myself a kaputt Toyota and research there where the harnesses connect to.

 

Nope, I thought you had some to share

 

Looks to be a very simple install that German solution.

 

Legend to wires required are on the relay.

Pegeländerung = Level change
schalter = switch

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rscCDwS0OaQ&t=19s

 

Looks like you newbee had really great contributions by now... Perfect example for the downside of a network like this. Ignored!

 

Seen that. Just have to figure out if that really replaces the OEM one in the relay box. Dealer didn't answer the phone yet.
May have to add a relay holder and kind finagle the wiring.
Still have not given up on the Toyota OEM rain sensor. As said, will go to a junk yard this weekend and find out where the harnesses go.

 

Find mating connectors to these and you won't need to sever the OEM harness.